Bethlehem To Debate Baseball * Council Tonight Will Hear The Station Controversy.

July 16, 1996|by THOMAS KUPPER, The Morning Call

Residents on both sides of the controversy over whether professional baseball will benefit Bethlehem will get another chance to speak tonight when the City Council holds a public hearing on the Station, the stadium formerly known as the Ballyard.

The hearing at council's 7:30 p.m. meeting in Town Hall is the first formal step in council's consideration of whether to rezone a tract along Stefko Boulevard between Broad and Market streets to allow a 6,000-seat stadium.

Council is not expected to vote until next month on the proposal, which comes with endorsements from the city Planning Commission and the Joint Planning Commission of Lehigh-Northampton Counties.

Councilmen have not taken public positions on the proposal, though Councilmen Otto Ehrsam Jr. and Jim Gregory said last month that they were leaning toward supporting it. The stadium would house an independent Atlantic League team, the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds.

At a series of preliminary public meetings the city held in May, dozens of residents attacked the stadium as a potential menace to nearby neighborhoods, including the city's Historic District.

Some of the residents have hired a lawyer to fight the proposal, which would rezone the tract from residential to commercial recreation. It would also allow the stadium to satisfy parking requirements with off-site parking.

City officials maintain that the residents' fears of crime, litter and traffic jams greatly exaggerate the stadium's impact. And the officials praise the stadium's potential economic benefits.

The Planning Commission voted to support the proposal after hearing the neighbors' criticisms and comments from a few stadium supporters. The JPC found the site to be "well suited for the Ballyard use" and did not take a position on off-site parking.

Parking is one of the top concerns. The stadium would have 400 spaces and would have access to an additional 550 spaces in a nearby lot, but residents fear that fans would park on city streets to save a $2 parking fee.

Also tonight, Bethlehem Mayor Ken Smith is expected to promote Deputy Fire Commissioner Kevin Moyzan to commissioner. Commissioner Richard Adams recently resigned after two years in the department's top job.